Windows 10 Home May Finally Allow Users To Pause Updates

Back in the old days, Windows users simply allowed the operating system to update as needed at times when the PC wasn’t in use (to avoid obvious conflicts with your workflow). That certainly hasn’t been the case of late with Microsoft’s Windows 10 updates bringing a slew of bugs and issues for users to contend with.

PC users on Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise have the option of pausing Windows updates for up to 35 days. However, there is the caveat that after your 35-day pause is over, you can only pause updates again after installing the most recent updates. Even with that caveat, the pause has been welcome by those not wanting to face the train wreck that updates have been recently. Folks using Windows 10 Home don’t have that pause capability, but that may change.

Reports indicate that Microsoft plans to give Windows 10 Home users the ability to pause updates in the next major feature update due during the first half of 2019. The catch is that users will only be able to pause the updates for up to 7 days at a time (which is still better than nothing). There is still time for Microsoft to change the pause time limit, but odds are that is all Home users will eventually get. The option will be placed in the Settings – Update & Security – Windows Update area and the link to use says “Pause updates for 7 days.” It’s not clear when the feature update will land.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2018 update was particularly nasty and was quickly removed from Microsoft’s servers. It took roughly a month for Microsoft to certify the update’s readiness to be redistributed to the public.

Microsoft has also admitted that checking for updates manually essentially made you a guinea pig. This latest move is at least a sign that Microsoft is willing to listen to user feedback to make the overall Windows 10 experience better.